Photo by Mark Rightmire
The Orange County Register

Hikers examine the roots of a redwood that fell after a storm in Humboldt Redwoods State Park.

Photo by Mark Rightmire
The Orange County Register

A trail winds through a group of redwoods in Richardson Grove State Park along the South Fork of the Eel River just off Highway 101.

Photo by Mark Rightmire
The Orange County Register

A large map in Garberville shows redwood groves around Highway 101 in Northern California.

If you want perspective to smack you up the side of the head, go to the redwoods.

No, smack isn't the right word. The trees that seem to rocket out of sight don't offer a rude awakening, but a gentle, beautiful reminder. Life is shorter than you imagine. Mountains may be forever. But redwoods are alive. They grow, they live, they die — it just might take a thousand years or so.

All the books of Zen meditation bring me less peace than I feel while sitting among the redwoods at Richardson Grove State Park on a quiet afternoon, with nothing but the sound of the wind through the branches.

There are young redwoods rising from the ferns; the mature kings of the stand scarred with black swaths where lightning struck; the toppled old giant gathering moss on the forest floor.

Driving up Highway 101, I pass through Willits, "Gateway to the Redwoods." What a small empire it has become. Once, more than 2 million acres of redwoods grew on the north coast between San Francisco and the Oregon border. The gold rush brought legions of loggers beginning in 1850.

By the time the Save-the-Redwoods League was created in 1918, just over 100,000 acres were left. Philanthropists bought up pockets of redwoods, which were named after them — like the Rockefeller Forest. State parks were set aside after World War I, followed by creation of Redwood National Park in 1968. The park was expanded in 1977, and in 1994, the national and state parks were recognized as a World Heritage Site.

Cutting of trees controversial

Although 95 percent of the north coast redwoods are gone, there is still big money to be made from old giant trees, and cutting old-growth stands in private hands is controversial.

One of the most recent battles was over my childhood haunt, Hartsook Inn. The lodge smack on the Eel River, just south of Richardson Grove, is where my family stayed throughout the 1960s. Playing shuffleboard with Dad. Swimming with Mom in the river. Hiking up to the redwood groves on the hill behind our cabin.

After years of struggling, the owners shut down and talked about logging the trees on the property. The Save-the-Redwoods League bought them out in 1998 and plans to sell the site to the Heartwood Institute, a new-age-style bodywork and massage school. The redwoods — including the 13-foot-diameter Hartsook Giant — will be protected. An apparent happy ending for the old place.

In the early days, Highway 101 was mostly a two-lane — hard to believe that it was at one time the main link between San Francisco and Seattle. My brother and I would hold hands to dash across the highway to the river, making sure that one of the many lumber trucks wasn't rumbling around the curve.

Timber was part of life then. Most trips, we would go to the Pacific Lumber Co. mill in Scotia to watch a high-powered hose strip the bark off massive logs before they were put through the spinning saws. The gift shop sold furniture, toys — even redwood toothpicks.

Sale of the mill in 1986 to a Houston-based investment group backed by notorious "junk" bond financiers Ivan Boesky and Michael Milken accelerated local logging, changing the equilibrium in the area. Critics charged the company with the equivalent of strip mining. The company countered that the state and environmentalists were improperly undermining their business. The lumber company went bankrupt. The whole operation — including the town — is up for sale. I have fond memories of Scotia, but I don't go there anymore.

When Hartsook fell on hard times, my family started staying at the swankier Benbow Inn. It's a 1920s-era, Tudor-style inn that had been a favorite of Clark Gable, Charlie Chaplin and others who motored north. There's always a roaring fire in the lobby and sherry on the nightstand. It's where I took my Boston-born wife for a romantic trip when I was trying to lure her to live on the West Coast.

It's where my kids learned to skip rocks on the lake next door. We'd ramble over to the old stone arch bridge, which acted like an echo chamber for our hoots. My parents just celebrated my father's 80th birthday with a trip there. Despite the increase in noise over the years from the widening of Highway 101, the lodge remains a cozy, friendly place that exudes the peace I prize in the redwoods.

We usually visit Garberville, with its funky cafes and earth mother-type shops, fueled in part by "entrepreneurs" who were said to have bought their four-wheel-drive vehicles on profits from illicit things that go up in smoke.

No trip, be it in 1965 or 2008, would be complete without the 32-mile drive up Avenue of the Giants. This is the oldest of old Highway 101, back when engineers didn't lightly uproot the giants, but instead swung the road around them, more blacktop path than highway.

The route starts near the Chimney Tree in Phillipsville and winds into Humboldt Redwoods State Park, where the best groves are found between the hamlets of Miranda and Pepperwood. My kids love Myers Flat, where they can climb around the Two-Story Tree House, then jump back in the car to watch as Dad guides it through the Shrine Drive-Thru Tree. This tree has a natural cleave in its base that was widened in pre-environmental movement days so that a small- to medium-size car can squeeze through

Pick turnout, walk a grove

The Riverwood Inn in Phillipsville is a classic 1937 roadhouse along Avenue of the Giants that is the best spot for lunch (or beer) along the way.

The attractions and inns are fun, but my favorite thing to do along the drive is to pick an empty turnout (there are dozens) and walk one of the groves.

On my last visit, I was alone. It was spring and few cars were on the highway. It was wet, muddy, empty and silent except for the occasional woodpecker or roar of a SUV speeding by. But most of the time, the peacefulness was there amid the ancient trees.

— Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

If you go

Getting there:

The nearest airport is Eureka/Arcata Airport, which is served by United Express and Horizon Air. It's also possible to start farther north than the section of the redwoods I favor, by flying into Crescent City Airport, served by United Express. Most visitors fly into the San Francisco Bay Area and drive north.

Hiking:

The national and state parks have more than 200 miles of walking and hiking trails. The Little Bald Hills Trail, Mill Creek Horse Trails and Orick Trail allow horses. Bicycle access is limited. The shuttle bus that once operated in the parks has been discontinued, so make arrangements to get around before you arrive.

Camping:

Camping is available throughout the state parks. Many of the more popular spots can be reserved by calling 800-444-7275 or going online at http://www.reserveamerica.com.

Lodging:

- Benbow Inn. Venerable Tudor-style inn that's been a stop for travelers since 1926. 445 Lake Benbow Drive, Garberville, 800-355-3301 or http://www.benbowinn.com. Rates range from $90 to $405 per night, depending on the time of year (summer is high season), room size and location. The hotel operates a nearby nine-hole, par-35 golf course.

- Benbow Valley RV Park & Cottages. Affiliated with Benbow Inn, the site offers 100 pull-through and back-in recreational vehicle sites, along with some cottages. Summer RV rates start at $47 per night (more for premium sites and during holidays). Cottages from $210 per night. 7000 Benbow Drive, Garberville. 866-236-2697 or http://www.benbowinn.com.

- Best Western Humboldt House Inn, Nice motel with great map of the redwoods painted on the side of one building. Large, clean rooms. Easy walking to shops and restaurants. 701 Redwood Drive, Garberville, http://www.humboldthouseinn.com or 707-923-2771. Rates from $129, but much higher during peak times.

- Miranda Gardens Resort. Family tradition always takes me to Benbow, but I've inspected this nice little collection of cottages in Miranda, just north of Garberville, near the southern end of Avenue of the Giants. It's charming and low-key. Rates range from $105 to $265. Many units have kitchens, and there is a market on the property. 6766 Avenue of the Giants. http://www.mirandagardens.com or 707-943-3011.

Dining:

- Benbow Inn Dining Room. Even if you stay elsewhere, consider having dinner at the old inn south of Garberville. http://www.benbowinn.com or 800-355-3301.

- Woodrose Cafe. Simple coffee shop with odd hours. Call ahead. No credit cards. 911 Redwood Drive, Garberville, 707-923-3191.

- Riverwood Inn, 2828 Avenue of the Giants, 707-943-1930 or http://www.riverwoodinn.com.

More reading: "Best Short Hikes in Redwood National and State Parks," by Jerry and Gisela Rohde (Mountaineer Books, $15.95), lists everything from gentle strolls to rigorous hillside hikes along the rugged coast.

More information:

- Redwood Coast visitors center: 800-346-3482 or http://www.redwoodvisitor.org.

- Redwood National and State Parks: 707-464-6101 or http://www.nps.gov/redw.

- Richardson Grove State Park, 707-247-3318 or http://www.parks.ca.gov.

- Save-the-Redwoods League at http://www.savetheredwoods.org.